‘Rumble Fish’ with Ray Gill Jr.

Episode 16

Try as he might, Rusty-James (Matt Dillon) just doesn’t get his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke).

“The Motorcycle Boy Reigns” as our kick arrives at Rumble Fish (1983). It’s not set on the highway, but perhaps no movie in this series uses the idea of the motorcycle rebel to such cool, elusive effect as Francis Ford Coppola’s dreamlike crime drama, starring a young Mickey Rourke.

Ray Gill, Jr. (Portland Mercury, Willamette Week) is here to explain why Rumble Fish is his favorite film, why Matt Dillon used to scare him, and why insanity is intoxicating, plus primo tales of growing up in a video store.

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About “The Kick”

“The Kick” is a theme-obsessed movie podcast where new releases are the ultimate excuse to fill blindspots and let that completist flag fly.

Part of the Now Playing Network, the show runs in multi-episode arcs—or kicks—that explore a particular sub-genre or filmography, and then culminate in a relevant new film. As in, “I’m on a sports-romance kick, and it won’t be over until I see Challengers.

Every week, host Chance Solem-Pfeifer is joined by a fellow writer, filmmaker, or movie appreciator. You can contact him at chancesolempfeifer [at] gmail [dot] com and read his film writings in the Willamette Week.